TP-Link TL-WR842ND 2.4 GHz router review, is it worth it?

The TP-Link TL-WR842ND (TL-WR842ND) router released in 2011. It is powered by Atheros AR7241 chipset, 32 MB of RAM and 8 MB of flash. The N300 router is compatible with IEEE 802.11b/g/n standards, and the maximum speed that you can get with TL-WR842ND is 300 Mbps. The router has 1 x 10/100 Mbps WAN and 4 x 10/100 Mbps LAN ports.

This router is a basic, 2.4 GHz wireless router that provides reliable connectivity for small networks. The USB connectors on the TL-WR842ND router add versatility to your network by enabling file sharing, media streaming, printer sharing, and other USB-enabled functionality. TP-Link provides a range of affordable networking solutions, making them accessible to a wide range of users.

Table of contents:

• TP-Link TL-WR842ND specifications
• TP-Link TL-WR842ND pictures

TP-Link TL-WR842ND (TL-WR842ND) specifications

Body

If you have limited space available for your router, such as in a small apartment or office, the dimensions can determine whether it can fit in the designated area or not. It's important to consider the physical size of the router, including its height, width, and depth, to ensure it can be accommodated in your space.

System

The Atheros AR7241 CPU, combined with other factors such as RAM capacity and firmware optimization, determines the overall performance and responsiveness of the router. The TL-WR842ND has 32 MB of RAM. Some advanced router features and software functionalities require a certain amount of RAM to operate properly. For example, routers with more RAM can support advanced security features, VPN services, or QoS (Quality of Service) prioritization more effectively.

The TL-WR842ND has 8 MB of flash memory. A larger flash memory allows for more storage space to accommodate future firmware upgrades. The process of upgrading the firmware on routers has become relatively simple and user-friendly over the years. The TP-Link provides easy-to-use interfaces and instructions to guide users through the firmware upgrade process. Depending on your router model and hardware specifications, using an alternative OS may result in improved stability and performance.

This router is OpenWRT compatible. OpenWrt provides extensive customization options, allowing users to modify and tailor their router's functionality to suit their specific needs. The TP-Link provides the appropriate power supply (12 V / 1 A) that matches the voltage requirements of the router. The power supply unit is designed to deliver the correct voltage to the router, ensuring its proper operation.

Network

The TL-WR842ND router offers built-in security features to protect your network and connected devices. The majority of networking equipment, including routers, switches, and other network devices, is designed to support IPv4. The TL-WR842ND has 4 x 10/100 Mbps LAN and 1 x 10/100 Mbps WAN ports. The LAN ports of TL-WR842ND router are numbered and are used to establish wired connections between the router and devices such as computers, gaming consoles, smart TVs, network-attached storage (NAS) devices, and other network-enabled devices.

WAN ports often require specific configuration settings based on the type of internet connection provided by your ISP. If you have a high-speed internet plan with speeds exceeding 100 Mbps, you may experience a bottleneck in wired connections due to the limitation of the Fast Ethernet ports on the TL-WR842ND router.

Wireless

This router has 2 x 5 dBi, RP-SMA antennas. Many modern routers feature multiple antennas and use Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) technology. This technology enables simultaneous transmission and reception of multiple data streams, increasing overall throughput and improving the Wi-Fi performance. The TL-WR842ND is compatible with 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi networks. 2.4 GHz is the most widely used frequency and in some cases may be overcrowded.

The TL-WR842ND is a Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n) router. N routers may have a more limited range compared to newer Wi-Fi standards, making them less suitable for larger homes or offices where Wi-Fi coverage is a concern. The N300 refers to the maximum combined data transfer rate supported by the router across all Wi-Fi bands. The TL-WR842ND is capable of a maximum throughput speed of 300 Mbps. The real-world speed of a TL-WR842ND router is typically lower than its theoretical maximum speed.

The maximum TX power of TL-WR842ND router is 20 dBm. Adjusting the TX power of a router can be useful in situations where you want to optimize the Wi-Fi signal strength and coverage. The TL-WR842ND router offers several security protocols: WEP, WPA, WPA2, WPS. The WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) was the first security protocol for Wi-Fi networks but is now considered weak and easily compromised. It uses a static encryption key and has known vulnerabilities, so it is no longer recommended for securing Wi-Fi networks.

The WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access 2) was introduced as an improvement over WEP and provides stronger security. If WPA3 is not available, WPA2-Personal with AES encryption is still considered secure. The TL-WR842ND router offers WPS. The WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) provides a simplified and convenient method for connecting devices to a Wi-Fi network. Instead of manually entering the Wi-Fi network name (SSID) and password, users can use the WPS feature to establish a connection with the push of a button or by entering a PIN. Once the guest network is set up on your TP-Link TL-WR842ND router, your guests can connect to it using the specified SSID and password. They will have internet access, while being separated from your private network.

Connectivity

USB ports can offer additional functionality depending on the router's capabilities. The USB 2 port has a maximum theoretical data transfer rate of 480 megabits per second (Mbps), which is equivalent to 60 megabytes per second (MB/s). The TL-WR842ND router has print server functionality. With a USB print server, you can manage printer settings, monitor print queues, and control access to the printer from a centralized interface. This can simplify printer management and administration tasks. The TL-WR842ND router allows you to schedule automated backups of your important data to the connected USB storage device.

Administration

The TP-Link router setup panel is accessed through a web browser. Connect your computer to the TL-WR842ND router via Wi-Fi or Ethernet cable. In the address bar of the web browser, type in the 192.168.1.1 IP address. If you are unable to log in to the setup panel of your TP-Link router, performing a reset can be a helpful troubleshooting step. It is highly recommended to change the default password of your TL-WR842ND router after the initial setup. If you forget the new password in the future, you may need to perform a factory reset on the router to revert to the default settings.

The specifications above are based on the official data published by the manufacturer, but we also take user reviews into consideration. If you found an error or something lacking in the specifications above for the TP-Link TL-WR842ND, then don’t hesite and signal the problem to us.

TP-Link TL-WR842ND (TL-WR842ND) pictures

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